The Detective Princess
by Emmychao
Summary: AU. She's a prodigy with the strangest luck, she is the very image of grace, she's five feet tall, and she wears a skirt. She's Shirogane Naoto, the detective princess.
1. Case 0

Misty blue eyes scrutinized the landscape with mechanical precision. Tree clusters then a dip in elevation, rice paddies, more trees, and then a dark tunnel in the mountainside… It definitely gave the vibe of the countryside. The girl by the window raised her wrist idly and duly noted that she had been on this same train for nearly three hours and twenty-seven minutes. She shuddered at the thought of how long it would take a normal person to cover this much ground on foot.

And before she knew it, the train was slowing to a stop at the station. She was finally at her destination. Wordlessly, the girl stood from her seat and stretched before grabbing her luggage from the overhead storage. With an elegant turn and the grace only a Shirogane could possess, she stepped out into the aisle, her skirt and plaid cape billowing behind her, and she adjusted her hat just slightly. Some of the few passengers stopped and stared in awe, but the teenager didn't care enough to spare even one glance at them.

Inaba… She was finally here.

Stepping off the train, she caught sight of a group of men in suits, some looking more haggard than others, and deduced that they were here to "welcome" her to Inaba… and her first job away from home. One of the men, a man in his early thirties, stepped forward and raised a hand as if to catch her attention. She took note of his disheveled appearance—the dark stubble, sloppily-tucked shirt, coat over his shoulder—and his air of superiority and concluded that he was most likely her new "boss." Though, using that word was slightly inaccurate as she was a commissioned detective from her family's agency.

"So you must be Shirogane Naoto, right? The girl from the Shirogane Detective Agency?" the man immediately asked, wasting no time with pleasantries. He held his hand out in greeting and continued, "I'm Dojima Ryotaro. Everyone here looks forward to working with you."

Naoto glanced over the group and caught their lie immediately. It was obvious that the majority of the men didn't want her help with this mysterious serial murder case, but she shook Dojima's hand anyway, if only to be polite. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

As she followed them away from the train station, she tuned out their senseless chatter and immersed herself in her own thoughts. The barely noticeable rip in her beloved cape was definitely problematic… and she pondered the most tactful way to inquire where she could get it mended since there might not even be a tailor in Inaba... With a slightly wistful sigh, Naoto shook her head and continued walking. She shouldn't be so attached to such relics of the past.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! So I know this wasn't listed under my upcoming stories list, but whatev'. It's a fill-in-progress over that the P4 kink meme.

Prompt: "so I drew a detective princess Nao-chan. and that means I want to see a fill/microfill where Naoto is a detective princess! not a prince! bonus if you use the same personality as in the game, but without the boy masquerade."

So I hope to deliver! Stay tuned for more~


	2. Case 1

"These are all the documents and details on the cases so far." Dojima took a cigarette out of the pack in his pocket but did nothing other than twirl it idly between his fingers. "Are you sure you want to start already? You don't have to do anything until tomorrow…"

"No," Naoto answered stubbornly with a shake of her head. "It would be best for me to begin working on this case as soon as possible. Whoever the culprit is, he may not wait for me to become acquainted with everything. There is no time to waste."

Dojima sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine then. Just don't get nightmares, kid."

She bristled slightly at the word used to address her and the manila envelopes in her hands crumpled slightly from her tightening grip. Naoto resisted the urge to step on the officer's foot as it was just inches away… All it would take was a well-timed adjustment in her stance and— "Yes, I understand, Dojima-san. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Naoto gave the man a proper bow before turning back the way she came. Once she was at the door, documents tucked under her arm and suitcase handle in hand, she stopped. Hesitantly, the prodigy turned back slightly with downcast eyes. "Just one more question, Dojima-san…"

"Yeah, what is it?" The man now seemed outwardly annoyed with her presence, his unlit cig already hanging in his mouth. He swore that if this kid asked one more question about work, he was going to—

"Where might I find Inaba's… tailor?"

The cigarette fell out of his mouth and hit the carpeted floor with an inaudible patter while the flustered teen pulled the brim of her hat over her face in what he could only assume was embarrassment. Incredulously, he fed her cookie-cutter directions he would've given any lost tourist, which she accepted with a silent nod before giving her thanks and leaving. Fumbling in his pocket for another cigarette, Dojima stared after the retreating detective.

"Strange kid…" Then he added to himself as an afterthought, "Wonder what she needs to do at Tatsumi Textiles…?"

* * *

Naoto stared into the dimly-lit shop window, absently gripping at her plaid-patterned cape, and debated whether or not to go in. With how much time Naoto spent at the Police Station, it was already late in the day, and by all means, the shop should've been closed already… The absence of an "Open/Closed" sign was a conundrum in itself. She fixed her cap before resolving to walk into the quaint shop, but the sounds of a nearby altercation caught her attention. Her gut feeling told her to check it out, and a Shirogane's intuition was never wrong… So she turned on her heel and followed the sounds of fighting to a nearby alleyway.

"Ya goddamn punks and your stupid bikes! Always keepin' Ma up at night… Just fuck off!" The owner of the voice was a tall man with bleached hair and dark clothing, and as strong as he looked, he definitely didn't seem like a match for the entirety of what appeared to be a bike gang. "And give back that damn shop sign!"

"You messed up our kohai pretty good last time, Tatsumi… Let us return the favor!" And so the first punch was thrown by the one who Naoto could only assume was the leader of the gang. She knew she shouldn't be hanging around watching random hoodlums picking fights in back alleys of unfamiliar towns, but she found it impossible to tear her eyes away. It was reminiscent of the few anime she watched as a child…

She rationalized that someone was going to get hurt, so she might as well make sure that blondie got medical attention as soon as possible afterward... Oh, and because she followed her instincts, she was able to solve the mystery of the missing shop sign, Naoto assured herself. Her pride was still intact.

Surprisingly, Tatsumi was able to dodge the first couple of punches by diving to his right and throwing one of the gang leader's own lackeys right into him in the process. Naoto knew that the fight was far from over, but that Tatsumi boy had already earned some respect in her eyes. After many head-butts, wayward punches, devastating stomps and kicks, several bloodied noses, and maybe a couple broken bones, the so-called bike gang finally looked ready to retreat from the battle. She would've smirked at their cowardice, but then she made a very important realization.

They were running right in her direction.

Naoto really wanted to curse her luck, but she knew better than to rely completely on such an unpredictable variable such as chance. Her grandfather always used to tell her that her luck was like the wheel of fortune with all of its ups and downs, and as a result, he had taught her to rely on the tools of the trade: evidence, circumstance, and her intuition rather than her faulty fortune. But back to the situation at hand… this definitely wasn't a matter of luck. "How well can I run in these boots with this rolling suitcase?" Naoto was already silently contemplating, but she stood her ground anyway.

_Luckily_, the thugs scampered right past her either because they didn't care that she was there or they were unaware of her presence... Though, her good fortune was short-lived as one of the guys haphazardly knocked her into the coarse brick wall behind her. There was the sickening sound of a rip and it took less than a second for Naoto to realize what had happened. That small rip really wasn't good news.

"H-hey, uh… You okay?" Tatsumi was kneeling over her with something akin to concern in his expression. She could have scoffed at the change in attitude. Was he trying to make up for something he lacked by taking gangs head on as he had done earlier?

"Of course I am," Naoto answered indifferently before pushing herself up and dusting the dirt off her skirt. She drove her previous thoughts out of her mind and focused on her next course of action. Collecting her belongings, she adjusted her hat as she always felt the need to and turned to leave the alley. "And you got your shop sign back, correct?"

"Uh, yeah. I mean, I guess, but…" Naoto couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the Tatsumi punk and crossed her arms contemplatively. Did bleaching his hair kill one too many brain cells? As rude and unfounded as that thought was, she still couldn't suppress it, and showed as much with her narrowed eyes. "Woah, hey! That's a big rip right there!"

Naoto chose not to grace that comment with a response and instead turned to leave. It was already late enough as it was, and she did not have time for this.

"Wait!"

She just quickened her pace without as much as a glance behind her.

"I said 'wait,' dammit!" A rough hand grabbed Naoto's slim wrist and held her in place. "You can get that fixed at my place, okay? Don't just go out and buy a new one if you can get this one all fixed up. Hell, I'll even do it for free! Just don't let it go to waste or nothin' or—"

"I wasn't intending to throw this out or replace it." Naoto tightened her grip on the documents she held and tugged on her other arm. "And you can release me now. If you insist on repairing this, then by all means, do it."

"Oh, ah, sorry, um…" He finally let go, scratching at the back of his neck nervously before kneeling down to the ground to nervously fiddle with the cheap, plastic sign.

"Shirogane Naoto," she supplemented for him, unfastening the brass buckle at her collar. "Will you be attending school tomorrow, Tatsumi?"

"Uh, yeah…" He looked absolutely puzzled when Naoto practically thrust the cape into his hands, careful to avoid the flimsy sign he was balancing against the ground.

"Then I shall see you tomorrow. Please have your work completed by then." Without another word, she tipped her hat and walked back into the street with as much grace as she could have with large manila files tucked under her arm and rolling luggage behind her.

Tatsumi Kanji was absolutely awestruck by the strange girl's elegance.

Shirogane Naoto, on the other hand, glanced at the case files and decided that she was in for yet another caffeine-fueled night.

* * *

A/N: Sorry... I'm a sucker for cute lil' detective capes and Naoto's hat. For serious.


	3. Case 2

"So far there have been three targets… one who's still alive and has recently been released from the hospital…" Naoto rubbed her temples and blearily glanced at the alarm clock. At nearly midnight, she was already dozing at her desk, and she had barely read through half of the reports. The soft pitter-patter of the drizzling rain outside wasn't helping her situation either. With a yawn, Naoto grabbed the remote off the corner of her desk and switched the television set on.

"—is now midnight. Welcome to the Midnight Channel where we take a look at some of the most famous unsolved murders right here in…" Naoto scoffed at the opening line and turned back to the papers in front of her. The brightly-colored bear mascot and the eerily glowing yellow set in the background were definitely inappropriate visuals for a subject matter such as murder. At least the annoying narration would help keep her awake for the next hour or so.

"Narcotics…?" Naoto raised an eyebrow at the toxicology reports for all three victims. The first victim Yamano Mayumi's involvement with Namatame Taro had been brought to light shortly after coming to Inaba to do a feature on the Amagi Inn where she was staying at the time. It caused a big scandal, and the entire production was cancelled. Several days later on April 12th, her dead body was discovered by a third year at Yasogami High School tangled between television antennae. She had been drugged and suffocated somehow before being displayed for the public to see.

The second victim was Konishi Saki, the girl who had discovered the first body. Her body was discovered hanging from a power line on the morning of April 15th, three days after the first murder. Her cause of death was identical to Yamano Mayumi's, including the lack of forensic evidence to link anyone to the two crimes.

The most recent victim Amagi Yukiko, who was released from the hospital a little over a week ago, miraculously escaped the culprit before a third murder could occur. She first went missing on the evening of April 16th and was discovered near the Junes Department Store on the 18th in a state of panic and delirium after wandering into the road and being hit by a car. Officers were unable to extract any cohesive information out of her before she fell unconscious, but after recovering from her comatose state, she unfortunately couldn't remember any details related to her kidnapping. Naoto's brows furrowed as she pieced the information together because something was horribly wrong with this picture.

There were no suspects in any of the three cases.

A loud buzzing noise startled Naoto into a standing position. Looking back down at her desk, she released a sigh of relief at the sight of her phone vibrating and half-covered by papers she had set aside. Taking a deep breath, she sat back in her chair and answered the cell phone with as much dignity as she could muster at the moment. "…Hello?"

"The fact that you answered this call means that you're still awake. Shouldn't you be asleep right now?" She stiffened at the sound of the stern voice on the other end and swallowed the invisible lump in her throat. "You're already working, aren't you?"

"I'm just acquainting myself with the case files, Grandfather..."

"That's no good, Naoto," his rough voice scolded from the other end, and Naoto found herself crossing her arms defiantly in response. "You must be tired from the long trip. Just take this night to rest up first."

"Criminals wait for no one," Naoto shot back into the receiver.

"Precisely," he cut in. "Which means that they'll be free to do as they please when you're stuck in bed from overexerting yourself."

She wanted so badly to say something—anything—in response to that but realized that she couldn't.

"Please just rest tonight, Naoto. I only say this because I care about you."

"I… Alright then, Grandfather. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Naoto almost slammed her phone on the desk in frustration. She could understand her grandfather's point but… but…

"Another person could be targeted anytime now…" she muttered before dropping her phone on top of the messy stack of papers and wandering away to put her futon down for the night. "I won't make the same mistake as _them_…"

* * *

It was the 17th of May… It had been about a month since the last incident. For Naoto, it was officially her first day on the case.

Naoto crossed her arms at her spot in front of the school gates. Her intuition told her that Tatsumi would most likely arrive within the next minute, but that didn't stop the discomfort that came from all the students' curious stares… The male ones, in particular, couldn't keep their eyes in acceptable ranges, she noted with a frown. They made the skirt that she meticulously kept at three inches above the knee feel more revealing than it should've been, so she backed into the wall behind her defensively and stared at her watch.

"Woah!" She snapped her head up in time to catch Kanji and his wide-eyed gape. "Wh-what're you doing here? How'd you…?"

"Yasogami High School is the local high school, is it not?" Naoto answered curtly as she stepped closer to the much-taller teen and held her hand out expectantly. "Have you completed the work as you promised?"

"Err…" He grabbed at the back of his neck and diverted his eyes. "…I didn't think I'd see you here so…"

"So…?" Naoto prompted indifferently, her eyes narrowing. "So what?"

"I kinda left it at the shop…"

She sighed and stepped on Kanji's foot, causing him to bend closer to her level then grabbed at the fragile chain he used to keep his jacket draped over his shoulders. "Why else would I inquire whether or not you would be attending school today?"

"Uhh…" Kanji honestly had no clue why she was so insistent on getting her point across. He just wanted to go home and eat the pudding he knew was still in the fridge. "I dunno."

"I asked if you would be attending school today," Naoto answered pointedly. "Why would I ask if you'd be here and make a promise to meet you directly afterward if I wasn't intent on meeting you at this location?"

Kanji knew some students were stopping to stare, so he tugged on Naoto's wrist as gently as he could to get her attention. "I got it, I got it. You want your cape back, right? Jus' follow me back to my place, and I'll give it to ya."

"…That's fine, I suppose," Naoto acquiesced quietly and removed her hand from his chain. He gave a small nod before stepping away and leading the way to Inaba's Shopping District. On the way over, Naoto was sure she saw two students following them near the floodplain… Their tailing skills were mediocre at best.

"I'm back, Ma," Kanji called once they entered the quaint textile shop. The aging woman at the counter smiled, though Naoto could have sworn the woman's grin widened at the sight of her. "I just need ta give her back something I fixed and—"

"Why don't you invite her in for some tea, Kanji-chan. And I'm sure you wouldn't mind sharing your pudding with the young lady, would you?"

"M-Ma, don—"

"Please don't mind me, Ma'am. I shall be taking my leave as soon as I retrieve my item. It would be rude of me to impose on you…" Naoto gave a polite bow and was almost shocked when the wizened woman smiled even more.

"My, my, such a humble girl. And a sophisticated beauty to boot!" The Tatsumi matriarch definitely put the icing on the cake with her follow-up, "Just look at her… She's definitely an intellectual. There's no mistaking that aura of intelligence!"

Naoto could feel her Shirogane-senses tingling… It wouldn't hurt to stick around a while longer.

_And_ there was pudding involved.

* * *

"Be my assistant," Naoto proposed suddenly with that regal air of hers, the spoonful of pudding in her mouth muffling and lessening the effect of her words just slightly. She knew it was unbecoming of her to talk with her mouth full, but she was struck with a genuinely good idea. Inwardly, she congratulated her great instincts. Kanji, on the other hand, looked nonplussed at her suggestion—no, _order_.

"Wha…?"

"I'm new to Inaba, so I require the aid of a longtime resident to acquaint myself with the area. You wouldn't mind, would you?" Naoto made sure her words were as mellifluous as possible despite the fact that she silently felt nauseous at the sickeningly sweet sound of her voice.

Kanji didn't think his day could get any stranger than it already was, but he was always up for being proven wrong. First, a rather cute girl had not only waited for him after school, but she had also fearlessly invaded his personal space in front of a good portion of the passing student body. Second, she had willingly followed him back to his home to pick up her newly-repaired cape (which looked absolutely adorable on her petite frame, he noted) and didn't care that he was a scary-looking guy who liked to sew (then again, she looked like she couldn't care less about his hobbies). Third, she actually followed him up to his room to hang out and eat pudding (which was also damn cute). And finally, she had outright commanded him to be her partner (for what, he still wasn't quite sure).

"It's obvious that the majority of those officers at the station don't seem to trust me, and they don't seem too keen to aid me beyond giving me their dusty case files…" Naoto thought to herself. She looked Kanji up and down before giving a small nod. He would have to do.

"Uh, are you sure you got the right guy…?"

Naoto smirked and crossed her arms, readying herself to say her winning line.

"…I'm just interested in you, Tatsumi."

* * *

A/N: Kanji makes a pretty good foil to Naoto, in my opinion. The cold, intelligent detective and the big, lovable oaf. :D

Also, Naoto's just making a misunderstanding like in the game... For shame. When will she learn?


End file.
